Page [NA] of Awhile in the mountains / by James Tandy Ellis.

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Old Uncle Lem MeGreggor
See the thing himself and said
That he's fasten' up his chickens when it come;
An' its eyeballs was a-blazin'
As it shuck its mangy head,
An' the growl it give had turned him cold an' num.
Tim Withers told the nabers
That lie drove in kinder late
After goin' to the meetin' up in town;
An' the thing slipped up behind him
As he stopped to lift the gate,
An' 'twas bigger then a colt an' yaller-brown.
An' that kettle-headed nigger
Workin' for old Levi Kropp
Wouldn't even venture out in broad daylight.
If he'd hear a noise behind him
You would see his jawbone drop,
An' he slep' behind the kitchen stove at night.
One day he kind fergot it.
An' he's settin' on the fence,
Jest a-hummin' in a lazy sort of way;
An' a rooster crowed behind him
An' they haven't seen him sence,
An' he never even come to git his pay.
An' they had the sheriff up there,
An' they had a reg'ler guard
A-watchin' for the critter day an' night,
But a little shaver caught it,
Right down in his amunmy 's yard,
You'd a-split yourself a-laughin' at the sight.
'Twas a yaller dog-a mastiff-
That had wandered from a show,
An' the biggest of his kind I ever saw.
But his eyes was full of kindness
As he laid a moanin' low,
While that shaver picked a thorn out of his paw.
Oh, they're laughin' up the holler,
An' that little bustin' boy
Wouldn't take a thousand dollars for his pet;
An' they roam around together
In a never-endin' joy,
But MeGreggor says, "I'll keep my winders shet!"